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Student Visa for Italy Questions

I am traveling to Italy for graduate studies in Milan. Classes start on August 26th and I submitted my documents to obtain a student visa to the Italian consulate in New York (I am American), including my airline tickets showing that I intend to travel on August 19th, so I have a few days to find accomodations etc. I am all set to go tomorrow, but I just noticed that my visa start date is August 30th -the day school starts!!

It is too late to try to go to the consulate as you need an appointment and takes weeks. No phone calls or other ways to ask a question. In addition to not wanting to show up in the country the day classes start, I have already made arrangements for airport pick ups, temporary hotel accomodations, etc. Can I enter Italy before the day of my visa start or would I be allowed to enter as a tourist for 5 days -for which I would normally not need a visa?

Any advice would be extremely appreciated as my flight leaves in about 14 hours.

I have no official info, but my son studied in Florence and I heard from his friends you can enter Italy as a student five days before the date shown on your student visa. That, of course, does not solve your dilemma. I suggest you call the program where you're studying and see what they advise. If you cannot reach them, you can enter Italy as a tourist tomorrow and get advice from the locals running the program. At worst, you might have to take a quick trip to Croatia or London (or another non-Schengen area...many discount flights available from Milan) and re-enter Italy to activate your student visa on or after August 30th.

Many thanks for your advice crosscheck. I took your recommendation and entered Italy as a tourist and will convert to my visa in a week. I was told that I just need to go to the local police and register my address as a student to activate the visa.

The bottom line is that I am in Milan now and ready for school. A million thanks